1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to a device for cleaning objects such as eyeglasses, sunglasses, lenses, golf balls, mirrors and other items. More specifically, but not exclusively, the invention relates to convenient portable casing for stowing a cleaning solution and a drying towel.
2. Background Art
It is frequently necessary to remove dirt, films, moisture and other soiling materials from objects in one's possession. Often, such soiling materials need to be removed while in transit or away from where conventional cleaning materials may be stored. Previous attempts have been made to provide integrated cleaning systems that are convenient for a user, and some that are portable. Examples of the previous attempts follow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,104 to Wolska-Klis discloses an eyeglass cleaning station including a compartmented housing containing a dispensing bottle of liquid lens cleaning material and a dispensing box of disposable lens cleaning tissue. The eyeglass-cleaning compartment may be placed on a countertop.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,661 to Burwell discloses a lens or eyeglass cleaning device having an elongated storage container and a cleaning cloth attached to the container with a retaining cord in a manner that the cloth may be retracted into the container by pulling on an end of the retaining cord opposite the cloth.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,751 to Madkour discloses a portable kit for cleaning eyeglass lenses which includes a flat, flexible container having two separately openable compartments, one of the compartments contains a liquid eyeglass lens cleaner absorbed on an absorbent material and the second compartment contains a dry wiping material which may be removed to wipe lens cleaner from a lens.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,132 to Valadez and U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,134 to Tsai disclose respective pens for cleaning eyeglasses. The Valadez eyeglass cleaning pen includes felt tip for applying cleaning solution in a first container to a desired surface and a second container serving as a cap and dispenser for a wiping material. The Tsai eyeglass-cleaning pen consists of a similar felt tip pen having at least one spectacle screwdriver removably mounted on the pen body.
The foregoing attempts, and other conventional systems, each have certain drawbacks including; for example, certain of the above-described systems: (i) are not conveniently suitable for portable situations (e.g., the Wolska-Klis eyeglass station); (ii) do not include any cleaning solution whatsoever (e.g. the Burwell device for cleaning eyeglasses) and rely solely on a cleaning cloth for removal of soils (referred to as “dry systems”); and/or (iii) utilize small amounts of cleaning solution, such as the type applied by a felt tip (e.g., Valadez and Tsai pens)(referred to as “semi-dry systems”).
Dry systems and semi-dry systems may work in some cases where the soiling material present on the surface to be cleaned is minute and/or has not significantly hardened. However dry and semi-dry systems may damage plastic lenses or UV/polarized coated lenses and can often lead to smearing of the soiling material, as opposed to removal, when a cleaning cloth is applied to a surface dry/semi-dry surface.
Additionally, certain of the conventional systems are complicated, not convenient to use and are suitable only for cleaning eyeglass/sunglass lenses (e.g., the Madkour portable kit for cleaning eyeglass lenses.)
Pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/353,700, entitled “Portable Cleaning Device,” filed on Jan. 29, 2003 by Kushner et al., and incorporated herein by reference, address some of the foregoing issues by disclosing a liquid spray cleaning kit with a retractable drying cloth.
However, additional integrated cleaning systems are desired that are relatively simple, compact, portable, convenient to use, and effective at removing even stubborn soil and from all types of surfaces.